Reading Challenge and the Future

Reading Challenge Time!
I am happy to note I completed my goal for Summer Camp--I achieved gold! I wanted to get silver and aim for gold, and yay! I did.
I am also pleased with what I wrote. Another goal I made for myself was to make certain the prompts were well-formatted and polished. I direct readers outside WA to my extraneous book content, and they probably don't know about summer camp, so I wanted fully-fleshed articles.
I wanted to mess with the CSS of all three worlds (Wellspring, Lapis of Nicodem, and Evenacht). I finished Wellspring (you can take a look at the front page here). I like what I came up with for Evenacht, but I still need to revamp the front page, which isn't done. And, despite several changes, I don't like what I came up with for LoN. I will continue in that endeavor. Man, putting the feel of a work into a website can take a long time.
For my written prompts, you can check out my finished articles here.

For the reading challenge, I decided to read through categories I did not enter. Some I did not have a ready idea for, and some just did not fit in my worlds at this time.
I really appreciated having wild cards this year, as they gave a little leeway if the regular prompts did not quite fit.

a system to send messages between distant places prompt

I judged this prompt, and there were many excellent articles. Below are ones I particularly enjoyed.

This article went in-depth into breeds, the hows and whys of training canines to carry messages, and some difficulties that arise with this mode of communication. It had good information and a pleasant presentation.

I liked the use of a naturally occurring mechanism, spider webs, to carry information with. Plucked strings also appeals to me as a cello player. Nice presentation and feel to the article.

This was a nice read. Communicate through seafoam! What's not to like?

Messages in bottles! Wonderful ideas and presentation. I love how the blues really make one feel water-y.

Bacon, anyone? Delightful use of bacon grease to create smoke signals, though I imagine everyone and their dog would be drawn to this communication device. I'm certain I would be constantly hungry if I were one of the Smoke Whisperers. Fun presentation, too!

This one stuck with me, because of the complicated creation of the items. The rocks needed to be twins, in every sense of the word--and even then, the connection between them used for communication might not work. Likely a frustrating endeavor for those making them, even those skilled in the work.

This is a prime example of how interesting titles can get people clicking and reading the article. Wonderful pic and nice neon presentation.

A popular summer tradition that involves art and creativity

I've been drawing silhouettes for Wellspring Dragon advertising, so this prompt really appealed to me. I love shadowy figures telling stories.

A celebration of dancing is a nice way to pass the time. I like the myth that accompanied it, and there's music (which was very cute).

I really enjoy the idea of a child decorating an outer wall of a house. It would add a unique flare to each one, and the family would retain fond memories, even if the child was too young to remember.

A resource that provides fuel or power

I like that 'Tan' in a typical sense means a middling color, nothing extraordinary, but the results of this elixir are anything but. I also like the use of spoilers for stats.

The horrific subject matter was intriguing but sad. Taking the cores is a travesty upon travesty for the Taken. And of course, the power-hungry would be in on it, if they got to feel unstoppable for a day or so.

I very much appreciate the nice space in the article. It makes reading so nice.

The Future

Ooooh, the future!

Books:
• publish 4th Wellspring Dragons book, titled "Abyss of Dreams" (still hoping for a 2023 release)
• publish paperback versions of the Wellspring Books
• Knavish Canto comes to an end, Broken Dulcet begins (Lapis of Nicodem books 3 and 4)
• Evenacht: Snake's Den comes to an end, Evenacht: Greenglimmer begins (Evenacht books 1 and 2)
• participation in, and sponsoring a prompt for, World Ember

Book sites:
• get all articles in Wellspring changed to the new look
• mess around with Evenacht's CSS a bit more
• figure out Lapis of Nicodem's CSS
• redesign sites to have basic info front, in-depth further in
• look into creating a schedule for new articles (like once a week, to coincide with the chapters going live)

Other:
• set up merch
• revamp Ko-fi site
• start creating vertical videos, including ads, reading of snippets and articles
• try yet again to get blog going

The Wellspring Dragons is a book series readers can purchase from their favorite retailer. The fourth book has been in a mid-state for a while now, due to burnout (bleah). Slowly recuperating on that end.
The Lapis of Nicodem and Evenacht serials run at World Anvil Manuscripts. I'll be creating covers and blurbs and all the good stuff for these books. I've been toying with the idea of releasing chapters early for supporters, but I don't have subscribers or anything set up yet.
I would like to get some merch out there. I've looked into this off and on, and I'm still not certain which service to use. Definitely a PoD, though.